Engine starter



Dec. 27, 1927.

. o.- BRISBOIS ENGINE STARTER Filed July 14. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 EW $0 0d! orzfi/als/foz's' Dec. 27 l Y O. BRISBOIS ENGINE STARTER Filed July 14. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Odfo Patented 27,

'-UNITE-D*S-TAT-ES? PATENT O ar.-

- omnon nnrsnors, or cnrcaeo, more.

anem s rnnrnn.

Application filed .I u1y 14,

' This invention relates to an engine starter of that type involving a driven vmember "which automatically moves into engagement With an .engine member for' starting the same 5" and that automatically moves out of mesh when the engine overruns the driven mem- 1 her.

' 1 Milt is-an object ofthis invention to pro- .vide such astarter .which will avoid the detrimental clashing of gears, that will yield upon a tooth-on-tooth engagement, and that functions in a smooth and easy manner.' It is broadly an object of this invent on to providea' starter having a sufficiently widerange of yield to absorb the tooth-ontooth impact and the starting impact and that will readily rotate off from a toothon-toot'h impact, and in which a yielding guide-way. is used to shift and drive the driven member.

With these and other objects in view In the accompanying drawings, which il-- lustrate a preferred embodiment of this invention, and in which slmllar reference numerals refer to similar features in the dif-- I ferent views:- 7

Figure 1 in an elevational view of a start-- er involving this invention with a portion of the engine fly wheel sliown in elevation.

Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view through the starting mechanism. Figures 3 and 4 are elevational VIGWS of a pair of telescopic driving members.

Figure 5 is an enlarged art-elavatmnal and part-sectional view of t e starter w1th the parts in driving position. I

Figure-6 is a view similar to Fig.5 of a slightly modified form of starter showing the parts in position when there is a toothon-tooth engagement, with the outer sleeve moved outwardly.

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the driving members.

Ei'gure 8 is an enlarged end elevational view of the starting mechanism.

Figure -9 is a diagrammatic view of the two driving members. As shown on the drawings: In referring to the drawings, there is shown 9? which correspond in contour to the initial 1 92c. sum in. mm.

a motor 1 having a shaft 2 provided with a-reduced section 3 upon its, outer end. A

.hollow cylindrical. sleeve 4 having a; spiral slot 5 w ich begins with a-straight -transverse portion 5', -at.'its initial point, and a long extending bearin hub. 4" at its outer end is secured upon is e reduced portion 3 of the motor shaft by means of the bolt 7. The cylindrical sleeve .4 has an interior diameter of such a size as to receive the driven member therein.' fThis drivenr-memher .is shown in the form of a pinion 6 having teeth at one end and a smooth hub at the other end from which a radial=stud 8 projects into the spiral slot;orguide-way 5. The ends of the slot 5 are, substanti'al1y as wide as the diameter of thehead of the stud 8; the'intermediate portion of-the slot 5' is however considerably wider than the dime; ter of the head of the stud .5for a purpose that will appear later. a

A secon sleeve 9 slidably'telescopes over the sleeve 4 and is provided with a short bearing'h'ub 9f which has a slidable fit upon thehub 4 of the sleeve 4. Y The inner end of the sleeve 9 is in the form of a spiral cam surface9 which begins with a straight transverseportion 9 and a concave notch point or beginning ofthe slot 5. .The sleeve 9 is provided with a slot 10 through which 1 a stud or pin 11 rigidly secured in" the sleeve 4 projects whereby'the sleeve 9 may slide relatively to the sleeve 4 but is constrained to rotate therewith. In Figure 9 is'shown the normal positionof the two sleeves 4 and 9 and it will be noted that the spiral cam surface 9 of the sleeve 9 normally overlaps a portion of the slot 5 in the sleeve 4. It will also be noted that the front face of the slot in the sleeve 4 is substantially a true spiral with the exception of the short transverse portion while the rear face is cut back so.that stud- 8 can recede therein when the sleeve 9 yields outwardly due to a tooth-ontooth engagement of the pinion 6 and engine gear 14, and also when the sleeve 9 moves outwardly to compress the spring 17 for forming a yielding frictional driving con nection:

- A collar 12 is secured upon the end of the hub 4 of the sleeve 4 by the bolt 7, and a comparatively weak coil spring 13 is positioned upon the hub 4'. with its ends abutting the collar 12 and the end of the hub 9 of the collar 9. The function of this ring is .to retainthe sleeve 9.. against the s eeve 4: and to provide a ready yield therefor when there is-a tooth-on-tooth engage-v ment of the pinion 6 and the gear 14 on the fly-wheel of the engine.

' A. cylindrical housing or barrel 15 is freel mounted the collar and provided wit noon 1 an inwardly turned flange 15 at its inner end which slidingly rests upon the hub 9 of the sleeve 9. A splitring 16 is sprung intoa suitable internal groove in the outer end of the housing and normally rests against the collar 12 as shown in Figure 2 to limit the inward movement of the housing.

7 A. heavy or strong coil spring 17 is confined under a predetermined compression within the housing 15 with its ends abutting the collar 12 and the inwardly turned flange 15 720.

of the "housing 15. This spring normally projects the housing inwardly until the split ring 16 abuts the collar 12 as shown in Figure 2. In this position, the flange 15* is on the outer wall of the slot 5, which is spaced a short distance from the end of the sleeve. However, upon sufficient outward sliding movement of the sleeve 9, it will abut the inwardl turned flange 15 of said housing and sli e the same outwardly as shown in Figure 5, thereby compressing the strong coil spring 17 and forming a yielding driving connection for the pinion, as will later ap ear. a

the modification shown in Figure 6, all the parts are similar ,tothose just described with the exception that the inner sleeve 4 corresponding to the sleeve 4 in the first form is provided with a slight shoulder 18 slightly modified as shown in Fig. 6 so that if the pinion 6 and gear ldcome into contact so as to produce a tooth-ontooth engaglement, the sleeve 9 will yield outwar against the tension of-the spring 13 uncover-,

ing s'aid shoulder 18, and the stud 8 on the pinion 6 will be operated against said shoulder which offers suflicient frictional resist ance to allow the pinion to be rotated from its tooth-on-tooth engagement. In order to clearly illustrate the shoulder 18, the sleeve 9 has'been sh'own in Fig. 6 as shifted outwardly beyond the stud 8. It should, however, be understood that in operation the cam surface 9 is always spring-impelled against the stud 8.

The 0 eration of this starter will now be described. Figure 1 shows the parts in normal position with the stud 8 s'eated in the end of the slot 5 of the sleeve 1 and in the part-circular recess 9 of the sleeve 9. Upon ."starting the motor, the two slidably coupled sleeves t and 9 will jointly rotate. At first the stud 8 on the pinion 6 will not be moved out of the end of the slot on account of the short transverse portions of the slot 5 and the transverse portion 9? on the sleeve 9. It

will require one or more revolutions of the motor shaft before the stud 8 on the pinion 1s moved into engagement with the spiral part of the guideway, so that the motor will be able to acquire sufficient torque for starting a stiff engine. It will, of course, .be understood that the inertia of the pinion 6,

which is loosely mounted upon the motor shaft, is siiflicient to prevent orretard its rotationso that the sleeves-4 and 9 will rotate relatively thereto. When such rotation has brought the radial stud 8 on the pinion into engagement with the spiral portion of the guideway, the pinion 6 will be moved longitudinally into engagement with.

relative the en ine gear 14. In referring to Figure 9, it Wlll beseen that the spiralface 9 -of the sleeve 9not only extends beyond the far wall of the slot 5,-but the slope thereof is also greater than the slope of the front wall of the slot 5 in the sleeve 4; in other words, the

spiral face 9 of the sleeve 9 converges toward the front or opposite-wall of. the slot 5' so that a yieldin wedging action occurs upon the stud 8 s ortly after it emerges from the short transverse portion of the guideway. This initial yielding wedging action will normally be sufficient to rotate the pinion 6 off of a tooth-on-tooth engagement withthe gear 14 when one'occ'urs. As

the pinion 6 is longitudinally moved into engagement with the gear 14, .the stud 8 traveling in the conver in expand the same throng t e slidable characteristic of the sleeve 9, and when the pinion guideway will 7 6 has been brought into full meshing relation with the engine ear14, the stud 8 will be substantially in t e position illustrated in Figure 5, some distance from the end of the guideway, infwhich position the sleeve 9 will have been shifted longitudinally and moved the housing 15 for further compressing the strong spring 17, as shown in Figure ,5, That is, as the stud 8 is forced into the converging or narrow end of'the slot formed 7 bg the opposing walls of the sleeves 9 and 4, t e

sleevei) will be forced back against the tension of the spring 17 which is designed to resist a predetermined load. When the force acting against the spring 17 equals the force necessary to'rotate the engine ear l l,

should, of course, be so designed as to resist the cranking load before the stud 8 reaches the end of the slot, so that if the engine should back kick, the spring 17 will be further compressed, allowing the stud 8to I move to the end of the slot, so there will be tooth engagement.

an initial yield upon a back kick of the engine when the same is under its highest com-.

pression.

above explained, the engine gear will overrun the pinion 6 and cause the same to automatically travel out of mesh, as is obvious.

The spring 13, which abuts the end of the sleeve 9, is adapted to be compressed before the spring 17, as can be readily seen by referring to Figure 2. This spring 13 is adapted to yield when-there is a tooth-ontooth engagement of the gears 6 and 14, and when such an action occurs, the Sleeve 9 will slide longitudinally against the tension of the spring 13, allowing the stud 8 to move therewith on account of the wide intermediate portion of the slot 5. If the resistance of the li ht spring 13 is overcomeythe heavy spring 1 may come into play, so the frictional resistance of the cam surface 9 against the stud 8 will be ordinarily sufficient to rotate the pinion off of its tooth-onwill be expedited in using an inner sleeve with an inclined shoulder or abutment 18, as illustrated in 'Figure 6.

The spiral face 9 of the sleeve 9 and the opposite wall of the slot 5 form, in effect, a yielding and expansible guideway which will expand when the stud 8 comes into wedging contact with the walls of such. guideway; and such expansion of the guideway will continue until the expanding force overcomes or equals the torque necessary to start the engine.

It will accordingly be apparent that the ears 6 and 14 will go into mesh under a yield and the engine will be started under 'a yielding force. Consequently there will be vlittleor no shock or clashing of the gears during the starting operation, and consequently there will occur no appreciable cutting or damaging of the gears.

I am aware that numerous details of con- V struction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention- 1. In an engine starter comprising a motor having an extended shaft, a sleeve secured upon said shaft, said sleeve having a cylindrical portion spaced from the shaft and provided with a spiral guideway, apinion secured upon said shaft within said sleeve and having a radial stud projecting into said guideway, a second sleeve surrounding said first sleeve and longitudinally slidable with respect thereto, and coupled therewith for conjoint rotation, said second sleeve having a spiral face overlapping a portion of the spiral slot of the first sleeve, and a yielding When the engine has been cranked as] Such action, however,

spring confinedunder a predetermined compression positioned around said shaft adjacent the end of said secondsleeve. v

2. In an engine starter comprising a shaft, a cylindrical sleeve secured upon said shaft andhaving a spiral guideway, a second sleeve slidably coupled to said first sleeve and having a spiral face in opposed relation to a wall of said spiral guideway', and yielding means adapted for compression by the sliding movements of said second sleeve, and

a driven member having a stud projecting into said guideway. i

3. In an engine starter comprisin a. shaft, a pair of relatively slidable mem rs coupled together for conjoint rotation secured to said shaft, said members having opposed spiral walls, and a. pinion having a radial stud projecting between said walls.

4. In an engine starter comprising a shaft, a pair of relatively movable members mounted upon said shaft, said members having opposed spiral walls, a driven member havin a stud projecting between said walls an yielding means for limiting the relative movement of said members.

5. In an engine starter comprising a shaft,

a "pair of relatively 'movable telescopicmenr bers supported upon said shaft, said members having opposed spiral walls, a driven ing a radial stud and means for longitudinally moving said memberand coupling the same for rotation with said shaft oompris-' ing a pair of relatively yieldable members defining a spiral and yieldable guide way for receiving said stud and means for limiting the relatively yielding movements of said members.

7. In an engine starter comprising a shaft, a driven member loosely mounted upon said shaft and having a radial stud, a pair of relatively movable members defining a spiral gu1de-way 'therebetween for receiving said stud and means under compression for limiting the relative movement of said memhers. I

8. In an engine starter comprising a shaft, a driven member mounted upon said shaft and having a radial stud, a pair of relatively movable members having 0 posed spiral walls of difierent pitch for 'de ining a guideway with converging walls for receiving said stud, and means for yieldingly limiting the relative movement of said members.

. 9. In an engine starter comprising a shaft, a pinion loosely mounted upon said shaft, a pair ofrelatively movable members having opposed spiral walls for controlling said pinion, said pinion having a stud projectway.

-ments of said members.

ing between said spiral walls and means for yleldingly controlling '10. In an engine starter shaft, a driven member loosely mounted upon said shaft, a pair of relatively movable concentric members defining a yielding guide-way therebetween for coaction with said driven member, sa1d driven member having'a stud projecting into said guide- 11. In an engine starter -comprising a shaft, a pinion loosely mounted upon said shaft and having a radial stud projecting therefrom, a pair of relatively shiftable concentric members mounted upon said shaft,

ing means adapted for compression by said second member for the purpose described.

. 12. The combination with an engine niember of a starter therefore comprising a shaft,

a driven member loosely mounted upon said shaft and having a radial stud, a pair of relatively slidable concentric members mounted upon said shaft, one of said members having a spiral guide-way for receiving said stud, one wall of said guide-way having a shoulder and the other'member having a s iral face normally overlappin said s oulder but adapted to be shi te longitudinally when there is an abutting relation of said engine and driven member for bringing said stud in contact with said shoulder for the purpose described.

13. The combination with an engine member, of a starter therefor comprising a driven member adapted to be brought into coacting relation with said engine member and means for controlling said driven member comprising a pair of relatively movable members having coacting parts for longitudinally shifting-and rotating said driven member, said driven member having a stud projecting between said relatively movable members, and yielding means for controlling the coa cting relation of said members.

14; The combination with an engine mem ber, of a starter therefor comprising a driven member adapted to be brought into coacting relation with said engine member, and means for controlling said driven member when it has an abutting relation. with said engine member comprising a 'pair of relatively shiftable members and means on one of said members adapted for engagement by said driven member when the other member has been shifted, for rotatin said driven member from its abut-ting re ation.

15. In a starter comprising a shaft, a pinion loosely mounted upon said shaft and havin a radial stud, a air of relatively shifta 1e concentric mem ers having overthe relative. move;

comprising a nesaem lapping spiral walls for engagement with said stud, yielding means engaging thememher with the overlapping wall, and adaptedto'yield .to bring said stud into enga ement with the overlapped wall, said over apped wall having a shoulder for enga ement with said stud for the purpose descri ed.

16. In an engine-starter comprising a shaft, '21 'pinion loosely mounted upon said shaft and having a radial stud and a pair driven member having-a stud extending between said movablemembers, and means on one of said members for engagement of said.

driven member when the latter is in abutting relation with said engine member.

19. The combination with a gear on an engine shaft, of a starter therefor comprising a pinion, driving mechanism adapted for longitudinally moving and rotating said pinion comprising a pair of relatively movable members, said pinion I having a stud extending between said members and means onone of said members for engagement by said driven member when the latter is in a tooth-on-to'oth relation withthe gear on the.

engine shaft for the purpose set forth.

20. In an engine starter comprising a shaft, a pinion loosely mounted uponsaid shaft and having a radial stud projecting therefrom, a pair of relatively slidable members defining a converging guideway therebetween for receiving said stud, mounted upon said shaft, and a pair of coil springs of different tension bearing upon one of said members i 1 21. A starter for engines comprising a rotatable shaft, a'pinion mounted on said shaft having a stud projecting therefrom, mechanism providing a guideway connected to said shaft for controlling the movement of said pinion, one wall of said guideway being in yielding-frictional contact with said stud during the longitudinal movement of said pinion. c 1

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

ODILON narsnors. 

